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When Janelle McDonald took over at UCLA, getting back to nationals felt like the furthest thing from her mind. But now that the first-time coach has done it, she’s not stopping at just UCLA’s first national semifinal appearance since 2019.
“We want to be competing on the final night of the national championships,” McDonald said, “and I feel like we have the team to be able to do that. But we’ve really had some conversations about shifting our gears and not letting that [goal] put pressure on us, but letting it inspire us.”
Hoping to win their first NCAA title since 2018, the Bruins will compete in the NCAA championships starting with Thursday’s semifinal against Oklahoma, Utah and Kentucky at 6 p.m. PDT in Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. They need to finish in the top two Thursday to advance to Saturday’s national final at 1 p.m. PDT. The semifinal will air on ESPN2, while the final is being broadcast on ABC.
UCLA is back in the NCAA gymnastics championships for the first time since 2019.
Thursday’s semifinals, which feature Florida, California, Louisiana State and Denver in the first session, also serve as event finals for individual NCAA titles. In addition to possibly helping the Bruins get one step closer to their first national team championship since 2018, Jordan Chiles will be competing for individual honors on Thursday. The Olympic silver medalist who recorded the nation’s highest all-around score this year could be UCLA’s first NCAA all-around champion since Samantha Peszek in 2015.
Here’s what to know about the NCAA championships:
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The top contenders
Florida’s Trinity Thomas competes on the uneven bars during a meet against Georgia on Jan. 27 in Gainesville, Fla.
(Gary McCullough / Associated Press)
No. 1 Oklahoma
Even when the defending national champions counted a fall — a dreaded 0.5-point deduction — in the regional final, the Sooners still advanced with a regional-winning total score of 198.050 and proved they’re still the team to beat. Oklahoma is ranked first in the country on vault and bars, second on beam and third on floor and is on track to win its fifth NCAA title since 2016.
Josh Lim is UCLA’s gymnastics super fan. The third-year student attends home meets, studies the gymnasts’ routines and is the club team’s president.
No. 2 Florida
The SEC champions are holding their breath for good news about star senior Trinity Thomas. The reigning NCAA all-around champion is day-to-day with a lower leg injury suffered during her floor routine during the regional semifinal round. Even without Thomas, Florida has the star power to earn its first NCAA title since 2015 with former national team members Leanne Wong, Riley McCusker and Kayla DiCello.
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The familiar foes
(Stew Milne / Associated Press)
No. 5 Utah
UCLA and Utah will compete in the same session for the third time in the past four meets. The Utes haven’t lost to the Bruins since the 2019 Pac-12 championships, including three wins this season. While Utah was seeded below UCLA, the Utes have flashed more championship potential this season with the nation’s second-highest team score, a 198.55 that trails only Oklahoma’s 198.575.
No. 7 Cal
Cal earned its spot in the national championships by winning the Pittsburgh Regional with a 198.075 over Florida. The score was the nation’s highest in the regional final round. Star freshman eMjae Frazier, the younger sister of UCLA’s Margzetta Frazier, powered the Bears to the victory by breaking the program’s all-around record, recording a 39.75.
Margzetta Frazier is determined to finish her UCLA gymnastics career on a high note at the NCAA championships in Fort Worth.
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The underdogs
(Matthew Hinton / Associated Press)
No. 6 LSU
LSU needed a tiebreaker to claim its spot in the NCAA championships, edging out No. 3-seed Michigan for second place in the Denver Regional. After both teams finished with a 197.65, the Tigers advanced when judges added all six scores on all four events. Haleigh Bryant, the 2021 NCAA vault champion, could reclaim her title this year as she entered the postseason as the top-ranked vaulter in the country with her dynamic front-handspring, front-pike half.
No. 9 Kentucky
The Wildcats finished second in their regional behind Oklahoma and advanced to the national championships for the second time in school history. Senior Raena Worley leads Kentucky as a first-team All-American on floor and a second-teamer in the all-around.
Freshman Selena Harris played a critical role in pushing UCLA into the NCAA gymnastics championships, earning the first perfect score of her career in vault.
No. 14 Denver
Not only did the Pioneers become the lowest-ranked team to reach the NCAA championships this year, they won their regional final with a team score of 197.875. It broke a program postseason record, led by Lynnzee Brown’s 39.8 all-around score that ranked second in school history. Brown is the 2019 NCAA co-champion on floor and returned to competition after suffering a torn Achilles last year.
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Individuals to watch
(Stew Milne / Associated Press)
Jade Carey, Oregon State, beam
Although the Olympic floor champion is the top-ranked all-arounder, Carey didn’t qualify for the NCAA all-around competition as an individual during the regional round. With one 10 on beam this year and nine consecutive scores of 9.95 or better on the event, Carey could become Oregon State’s first beam NCAA champion.
Norah Flatley, Arkansas, beam
Gymnastics fans hoped that the former UCLA star would reunite with her Bruin teammates at nationals, but Flatley will instead rotate with Utah in the second semifinal to compete on beam for a final time in college. It’s Flatley’s second time competing as an individual at nationals after making the all-around cut with the Bruins last year.
A look at the UCLA-Utah rivalry as the Bruins face the Utes for the third straight competition and fourth time this season at the NCAA championships.
Derrian Gobourne, Auburn, floor
The charismatic Auburn senior whose popular floor routine is an ode to HBCUs advanced to nationals as an individual out of the Los Angeles Regional and will rotate with Utah in the second semifinal.
Natalie Wojcik, Michigan, bars
Two seasons after winning the program’s first national title, Michigan faltered in the regional final, but sent four individual competitors to nationals. With a unique Deltchev release skill on bars, Wojcik is looking for her second individual NCAA title after winning on beam in 2019.
